Days 13-15 – Death days
I am sitting here having probably slept 40 hours in the past 48 hours and feeling like I ran into a wall. Despite the horrible state I’m in due to this weekend, I guess it was worth it. The ride there started off at 4 AM and by walking outside by lonesome selves in the middle of roads of Trujillo. That’s what I love about this little town. Finally got to Copan around dinnertime and feasted.
The next day was completely packed because we had to head back on Sunday. We started with going horseback riding up the mountains to a small ruins area. During parts of the trips I felt really bad for the horses; the slope and rocks were not too fun. But other than that, I finally got a chance to gallop on a horse and loved it! Even the throbbing groin afterwards was worth it. Where we got off, little kids of the Mayan descendant begged us to buy some handmade flower/people plaything. First of all, I always thought that the Mayans disappeared but apparently many of the indigenous tribes that still reside in these areas are considered descendants. You would think these people would be really prideful to be descendants of such an amazing people. However, these kids (and probably the parents taught them to act this way) whined the entire time we were there ‘viente por dos, comprame, diez, diez’…gives me shutters still. They should definitely have tried another approach and just smiled, but then again I ended buying one so I guess it worked.
After horseback riding we got a guide for the actual Mayan ruins themselves. He was rather enthusiastic and got me really excited. I tried really hard to break through his heavy bizarre accent and learn a thing or two about how advanced the Mayans were. Their irrigation system was pretty sophisticated, they were big believers in sacrificing, they apparently had dancing jaguars, their eras were based on kings, and basically archeologists are either really amazing or just amazing bs-ers. Sometimes I just can’t seem to see how people could decipher a whole story based on one picture, but then again that’s why I am not an archeologist. By the end of that it was around 3PM and we were all hungry and tired and our tour didn’t end up on the best note and I felt a bit bad for the guide because he wanted to keep talking (even though he was basically repeating himself) and we told him we wanted to go eat.
After filling our tummies after feeding our brains all day, we were definitely ready for the hot springs. Little did we know that this trip to and back would probably the highlight of the trip. All 16 of us were packed like sardines standing on the back of a pretty worn-down pick-up truck and set off on a 45 minute drive through the mountains. The trip there was brightly lit so it was more exhilarating then scary though by the time we got there, the front of the truck was smoking and that scared me quite a bit. For the advertised 3 dollars we would get these two disgusting looking pools and for 10 dollars we would get the real deal. Sadly, only a few of us decided for the real hot springs. It was then that I realized that my sentiments follow that of the majority of the group I’m with. Basically, I am happiest when everyone is happy. Sigh, either way, the hot springs were sensational and I am glad to have spent those extra 7 dollars. The trip back was absolutely ridiculous. It was probably the most near-death experience I’ve ever been in. 1) It was pitch black, 2) it was raining cats and dogs, 3) and therefore impossible to see more than 2 feet in front of us, 4) this poor close to death truck was carrying over 2000 lbs, 5) I could see the smoke of the brakes, 6) I could smell the engine, 7) the potholes were like death traps, 8) and the steep mountainous range made me hold me breath longer on this trip than I was breathing for sure. At the end of the trip, the driver admitted that he had never had so many people, standing, in such bad conditions, and he was actually piss scared too. I am just glad we are alive even if I feel half the person I normally am. I missed worked today 
, hopefully I am better tomorrow.
ya u are home now